Substitutes
by I SingOnly4MyAngel
Summary: What if people who looked exactly like characters from Phantom were substituting for your classes at school? What if they actually were the Phantom characters, somehow out of time? So my friend and I came up with this, totally random, but it was fun to write, so who cares? So I'm going to wait for a few reviews before I post the rest!


**Ok, so this is the prologue and the first chapter. Background: in chorus we had a substitute who literally looked exactly like Patrick Wilson as Raoul, except his hair was shorter. But then my friend and I, in all our crazy phandom randomness, decided that it would be fun to think of Giry subbing for our P.E. class. That idea then grew into this. (Yes, I know we're absolute nutjobs) Enjoy!**

Prologue

It was the talk of the school. She had become famous in less than ten minutes. "Bryna's sub" was all over school. Though most of them didn't even know her real name, they readily joined in with their comments and observations. If one walked down the hallway, they would observe that every conversation was centred around the same topic: P.E. Of one had then proceeded to stop any random student and ask them about that particular class that day, they would most likely have told you that the district had given them a lunatic for a substitute. But there were two girls who would have answered differently. They would have answered both at once, speaking so rapidly that their words were hardly decipherable. But they would have told you that something had gone wonderfully and horribly wrong in the universe, and a woman whom they would refer to as "Antoinette" or "Madame" had been the substitute for Coach Bryna.

If one had asked them who this woman was and why she was the number one topic of gossip at the moment, they would have replied that it was because she was so strange. They would have first described her as French, then would have launched into a description of her hair. Unless you had seen her with your own eyes, it would have seemed very strange indeed. But once you had laid eyes on her, you would have agreed with them.

In reality, this woman was French, slightly above average in height, thirty-two years of age, had bright, clear blue eyes, and the most remarkable, beautiful hair you had ever seen. Reddish in colour with tinges of copper and honey, she wore it pulled back in a braid that circled once around her head, formed a bun in the bacon her head, and the length that was left fell over her shoulder. She had long legs, a small waist, and creamy-white skin. All of this was combined with an air of extreme grace to form a most striking appearance. You may find it hard, dear reader, to fully grasp her appearance, for she was the type of woman who you simply must see with your own eyes to really understand her description.

Our story, strange but true, is centred around these two girls. Their names Sarah Abbot and Veronica Wood, they truly are the most memorable students to ever walk Stonewall Middle School's halls.

Chapter 1

She was so fed up with the whole darn system of public education. It should be a law that no one is allowed to teach math before 11:00. Nearly falling asleep in English and having a very confusing lesson in math really made for a dreary start to her day.

But as Sarah stepped into the sunshine at snack, she couldn't help but smile as her best friend came running at her.

"Oh my God," blurted Veronica, "I **loved** your latest phanfic! I don't know where you pull this stuff from, but you're brilliant!"

"Thanks!" replied Sarah. "You know, fantastic things can come from being desperately bored." Sarah looked sideways at Veronica, and the two laughed together, running toward the rest of their group of friends.

"So what did you think of Giry's reaction?" asked Sarah. She was referring to the fanfiction she had emailed Veronica the previous night.

Veronica put on a very serious face and a very bad French accent and said in a harsh tone, "I will **not** have you telling your lies to my girls! Honestly, stagehands, they're such idiots," said Veronica, half-quoting Sarah's composition. This sent them both off a metaphorical cliff, and they could do nothing but crack up at Veronica's impression of Madame Giry.

As they joined their group of friends, they noticed that the faces of those around them were very grave and serious. Sarah was confused, what had happened? It wasn't even Monday, there was no reason anyone should have that expression on, unless they'd gotten a ridiculous load of homework.

"Hey guys, what happened?" asked Sarah.

"Well, since none of us have had P.E. yet, we don't really know," answered her friend Artemis, as she swept her strawberry-blonde hair out of her eyes. "You mean you haven't heard?"

"No, what?" questioned Veronica.

"Well," piped up Jane, who always enjoyed a good story, fictional or not. "Rumor has it that Bryna's got a sub today."

"Ok, so…why is that so shocking?"

"I haven't finished yet! So Bryna's got a sub, but those who've had P.E. already say that she's absolutely **awful**! I heard somebody say she made Jimmy Thorson run a total of at least a mile, because every time he turned to talk to the girl next to him, she made him run another lap!"

"Good for her," said Sarah. No one really liked Jimmy. There were rumors flying around that he smoked some odd stuff, along with some other kids. Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me, thought Sarah.

"But that's not half of it," continued Jane. "I heard she gave kids a choice when they had to run their warm-up lap. I heard someone say that she had them choose between running the lap or standing on their toes for half a minute."

"You mean just balancing on tip-toe?" Veronica threw in.

"No, I mean like, ballerina style. Sarah knows what I'm talking about," said Artemis, "Show them, Sarry," Sarry was Sarah's nickname. Sarah stood up and popped up onto pointe, but she couldn't hold it for more than a couple of seconds before she had to come down.

"Wow," breathed Veronica, "Even Sarah can't hold it for more than a second. And she made them do it for half a minute?" Jane nodded, her eyes twice their normal size.

"And she had this cane. She didn't use it like one normally uses a cane, to support oneself, but she just swung it by her side the whole time. Except when she was correcting Jimmy. Of course, he chose the witty things and stood on his toes." said Artemis.

"Of course he did, but what did she do?" asked Veronica, a slight tone of annoyance and anticipation in her voice.

"Well, his legs weren't straight and he was only on tip-toe, so she walks over to him and uses the cane to rap him on the knee and ankle. Not very hard, but hard enough to get the point across. And he, being Jimmy, makes it out to be really bad, falling to the ground and complaining loudly. And do you know what she did? She turned around and walked away. She said, 'If a ten year old girl can do it, so can you.' Can you believe it?" There were murmurs of 'No,' and 'My God' from the group.

"And the P.E. teachers did nothing to stop her?" asked Sarah.

"No, that's the remarkable thing! They were actually sort of in awe. I've never seen a P.E. period be that good. During free play, they sat around with her and talked. I heard Jessica say that Ashley said to Rachel that they actually asked her about, like, her life! How she learned discipline like that. I mean, they've been at it for years and the classes behaved better for her than they had for anyone before. Even when the principle came in!"

"Wait, did she answer their questions?" questioned Veronica.

"**Yes**," said Artemis, with great emphasize on the word. "I mean, have you ever heard of that before? A teacher, even a sub, just outright answers questions that are like, 'Where did you grow up?' or 'What do you do when you're not subbing?'. I heard people saying that she's a ballerina, or a dancer or something. But then, I also heard someone say she was an actress on the London stage and somebody else said she was connected with some opera or another, so I don't really know for sure."

At this, Sarah and Veronica exchanged a glance. It was like they'd met her before, because that was totally what-But no, that wasn't possible. She was a fictional character, after all.

The bell rang, and instantly there was motion all around as students shouldered backpacks and picked up books, making their way to their third period. The small group of friends disbanded and went their separate ways, to meet again at lunch. Sarah tossed her backpack onto her shoulder, waved goodbye to her friends, and re-entered the building, walking down the science hallway.

"Did you **see** him?" one girl said to another as they passed. "He was like, **way** hot!"

"God, I wish he was **my** sub! The only time I wish I had that class…" replied her companion. Wait, another substitute? Why would a regular teacher and a P.E. teacher be out on the same day? They must have just been ill., thought Sarah.

When she dropped into her seat in science and took out her book for the twenty minute reading period they had at the beginning of their third class, she thought nothing of the absence of their usual tormentor, Miss Crocker. She assumed the woman had just been talking to one of her fellow science teachers. But when the teacher did enter the classroom, it was most certainly **not** Miss Crocker. Instead, it was a tall, blonde, very good-looking man dressed in a grey t-shirt and denim jeans that looked new. Sarah's first thought was not even how attractive he was, which was the thought of many a girl in the class. No, her first thought was, "Oh my God, it's Patrick Wilson!"

And it was true that the substitute looked exactly like Patrick Wilson from the 2004 Phantom of the Opera movie. Completely dumbfounded, Sarah found herself unable to do anything but stare at the man. While girls around her giggled and blushed as he looked at them, when his eyes passed over Sarah, all she did was sit there, mouth slightly open, wide-eyed.

"Good morning class," he said, his voice smooth and delightful to hear, "I believe you have-" he checked the schedule printed on the paper on the desk in front of him, "Reading for enjoyment. If you need a book, there are plenty up here," he said with a wave of his hand at the cabinet to the right of the desk. "My God, it **is** Raoul! I mean, that's not possible, but he looks **just** like him!" thought Sarah. From that point on, she found it very hard to focus on her book.

When the bell rang to signal the end of their reading time and the beginning of third period, she dropped her book immediately and waited patiently for him to begin the lesson.

"So, ah, I am no science teacher, and therefore am very pleased that I have nothing to do today other than answer questions. We'll be watching a video and as you watch, you are to complete the notes paper," he held up a stack of papers, "Would you please pass that out?" he said, handing the stack to the first person in the row nearest him. He then picked up the television remote, turned the television on and set the video to play when he hit the button. "Now, if everything is relatively quiet during the film, I'll let you have the last ten minutes of class to chat." He raised the remote and played the video.

Sarah felt very fortunate that all the questions were fill-in-the-blank, one-word answers. Somehow, she managed to get through the video with all the correct answers. She'd even surprised herself, she hadn't thought she would be able to focus at all. The majority of the period was all a blur to her, every minute blending with the next. When the film was over and she packed up her things, she turned to look at their substitute, and realized that he had never told them his name. She spent a minute or two considering the thought that had just passed through her mind, and before she could second-guess herself or think twice, she was approaching him. He was seated at the desk, instant messaging someone, Sarah saw over his shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir," she said. He turned around to face her. "This may sound strange, but just out of curiosity, do you know The Phantom of the Opera?" He looked very surprised, then rather confused and Sarah rapidly tried to explain herself. "You see, I was just thinking that you looked an awful lot like Patrick Wilson, who played Raoul in the 2004 movie version, I was just wondering if you knew the character or the actor…" she trailed off, hoping desperately that he would understand.

"Ah, I see." he said, a smile crossing his face. "I have to say, I know neither the character nor the actor in question."

"Oh, well, you really do look like him, and it's a really good movie, I really love it. If you get a chance, you should watch it." At that moment, she was saved by the bell, literally. She smiled at him and turned to leave, grabbing her backpack and hurrying out of the room. She raced up the stairs, and only slowed when she was in the hallway on the floor above. She took a deep breath. "I can't believe I actually did that." She shook herself lightly, and proceeded to fourth period.


End file.
